After years of abuse, Mariam, the protagonist of A Thousand Splendid Suns, looks back and examines herself: “What a harmful thing had she willingly done to this man to do they justify his malice, his constant aggressions, the pleasure with which he tormented her?" (Hosseini 346). During the time of this novel and the movie Osama, a woman's life in Afghanistan was completely marked by oppression. In this quote, Mariam demonstrates this pervasive sense of submission by blaming herself for her own abuse, a weakness that has been with her since birth. The childhoods of the central characters in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns and the film Osama determine how each of them responds to oppression. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Mariam's upbringing shaped her in a way that led her to accept her own oppression, until she realized she didn't have to respond in this way. Throughout her childhood, Mariam is ambitious and dreams of a life outside her little shack, but grows up ashamed of her existence. His mother, Nana, encourages this shaming with phrases like: “You're a clumsy little harami. This is my reward for all I have endured. A clumsy, heirloom-breaking little harami” (Hosseini 4). Nana also uses the scary and difficult circumstances of Mariam's birth as a way to manipulate her and make her feel guilty. Despite Nana's bitterness, the two women generally get along well. Mariam and Nana work together every morning collecting eggs, feeding the animals, and preparing bread (Hosseini 15). Although Mariam's childhood is by no means privileged, it is a simple, routine lifestyle that brings her joy. However, the shame of being illegitimate, combined with the guilt she feels after her mother's suicide, stays with her throughout her life. This contributes to his tolerance of Rasheed's abuse. Because she never felt that she was wanted and that she was the cause of her mother's death, Mariam is virtually incapable of standing up for herself. For example, the first time she confronts Rasheed, Mariam says, “Eighteen years old […] And I never asked you for anything. Not a single thing” (214). She continually suffers Rasheed's physical and verbal assault and, as her mother taught her, she endures it and lives with it. As the story draws to a close, Mariam realizes that she did nothing wrong and that her mother's judgments and Rasheed's abuse were completely undeserved. This is the knowledge that allows her to sacrifice her life to save Laila, whom Mariam loves as if she were her own daughter. Laila, another of the central characters in A Thousand Splendid Suns, would never blame herself for the actions of others. She grew up with a much more privileged lifestyle than Mariam, a lifestyle that influenced her response to oppression. Throughout Laila's childhood, her parents, especially her father, encouraged her education. Babi, her father, demonstrates this with statements such as: “Marriage can wait, education cannot [...] You can be anything you want, Laila” (Hosseini 114). Like Mariam, Laila grows up with big dreams, but unlike Mariam, she has the support and ability to actually work towards them. When her parents are killed by a rocket, Laila must marry Rasheed to hide that she is pregnant with Tariq's child. During all this turmoil, Laila's life changes dramatically. She is forced to wear the burqa, give up all her values ​​and accept the role of mother and wife at fifteen. When she becomes a mother, Laila puts her children first and never gives up hope for a better life. Immediately aftermarried Rasheed, Laila begins to understand the effect her decisions have on her life: “even though the child inside her was no bigger than a mulberry tree, Laila already saw the sacrifices a mother had to make” (Hosseini 218) . Despite family tragedies and difficult times, Laila's childhood was not as bad as the childhoods of those around her. Because of this discrepancy, she is not resigned to Rasheed's abuse and knows that there is a better life out there for her. In the novel, Laila's original escape plans are undermined by her pregnancy. Later, when her daughter is older, she starts stealing money from Rasheed and plans her escape again. The reader finds out when he says: “We will leave this spring, Aziza and I. Come with us, Mariam” (Hosseini 256). Although the escape plan doesn't work, Laila maintains hope of survival thanks to her education, which gave her the tools she needed to overcome the period of oppression. This set of circumstances makes Laila significantly different from Mariam, who lacks these tools, and consequently accepts her oppression rather than attempting to change it. In terms of childhood, Laila and Osama are almost complete opposites. Osama, the main character of Siddiq Barmak's 2003 film Osama, lives with his mother and grandmother in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Osama's response to oppression is very different from that of Mariam and Laila, due to the circumstances of his childhood. As described in A Thousand Splendid Suns, some of the Taliban's rules seem strange and ridiculous: “You shall not paint your nails. If you do, you will lose a finger” (Hosseini 278) but some affect women more severely, such as “Women are forbidden to work” (Hosseini 278). Osama's father and uncle were both killed in the war, leaving his relatives with no one to support them. Ultimately, Osama's mother and grandmother decide that the only way to survive is to send Osama to work disguised as a boy. This puts his life at risk, and it is clear in the film that Osama is afraid of being captured (Barmak). Osama's childhood heavily influences how he responds to and understands oppression, because he grows up in a time where he knows nothing different. Osama grew up struggling and risking her life at the same time, and therefore has no understanding of the concept of a better life. This lack of knowledge leaves her without the ability to maintain hope during a time of oppression. If Osama's whole life is a struggle and that's all she knows, there's no reason for her to expect anything to change. Towards the end of the film, Osama is shown jumping rope in her prison cell (Barmak), which shows that she was too young to have any knowledge or understanding of a life without the kind of oppression she is regularly subjected to. Furthermore, once Osama is revealed to be a girl, she runs away, and when she is caught, a man immediately puts a burqa on her head (Barmak). When this happens, Osama stops resisting, because he knows that women must wear burqas when in public; now that she has been officially branded as a woman, she feels there is no escape. In Osama's mind, a woman's life is synonymous with oppression. To draw a final parallel between the two works, Osama is portrayed as very similar to Mariam because they both do not fully understand the concept of a lifestyle that makes women free to go and do whatever they choose. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Overall, if any of the characters had different childhoods than theirs, the outcomes of their lives may have been completely different. Their response to oppression was dictated by manner.